A Healing Touch
Several years ago ITEC did a triple training course on the edge of the jungles in Ecuador: I-SEE, I-DENT, and I-MED. At that time, I-MED consisted primarily of teaching indigenous medical technicians to take a medical history and do physical exams. I remember thinking, "is this really worth doing if we can't help the people in a practical way?" I can't imagine that I was so naive. The three ITEC dental chairs were full of people having trainees fix their teeth. In I-SEE they had a long line of people wanting to have their eyes checked and be fitted with glasses. In the I-MED room, I expected that the patients getting checkups would probably be disappointed that we weren't offering any services other than diagnosing what was wrong with them and offering ibuprofenand tylenol. I was incredibly wrong.
After living for the last two years as an incomplete quadriplegic with a great deal of almost constant pain, I have learned why the patients having their vital signs evaluated were incredibly satisfied with the attention they were receiving. What I didn't realize then, that I realize now, is how important "attention" is in caring for hurting people. Whether their infirmity be physical, emotional or spiritual. One of the few remedies that seems to really help me now is having Dr. Trina, or her understudies Daniel and Ginny, stretch my body. They pull my arms until they feel like they will break, pump and pound my ribcage, then bend my legs until they feel like they will explode. I used to call Trina, "Dr. Pain," but now I look forward to every stretching session. Although the stretching hurts, it is extremely comforting in my pain just to be touched by someone who cares.
On the edge of the jungle, the I-MED patients who had received checkups, hung around, I think hoping that they might have a chance to be evaluated again. The feel of the blood pressure cuff being gently wrapped around their arm, the touch of the stethoscope and the hand holding it to check their breathing, and caring fingers checking their heart rate, were a healing touch that many of these people had probably never yet experienced. I have mentioned before that 2.5 billion people, that make up 3 of the 4 largest countries of our world, are closed to overt Christian missions. They are, however, usually wide open to a caring, healing touch regardless of the religious orientation of the person offering that touch. That's why ITEC developed I-MED.
In the Old Testament, Ezekiel received a message from the Lord against the leaders of Israel. The Lord said, "You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured" (34:4). So, "I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them justice!" (34:16). In the New Testament, Jesus said, (Mt. 25:39-40) that when we care for the sick we are actually caring for Him.
The article was originally published in the May 2014 ITEC Newsletter.
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